Determination of critical points on silicon nanofilms: Surface and quantum confinement effects
Date
2008ISSN
1862-6351Source
3rd International Conference on Micro-Nanoelectronics, Nanotechnology and MEMsVolume
5Issue
12Pages
3776-3779Google Scholar check
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In this work, we present a comprehensive study of the optical properties of nanocrystalline silicon films with thickness varied from 5 to 30 nm. Spectroscopic ellipsometry is employed to determine the dielectric functions of these films using a structural two-layer model based on the rigorous Airy formula. Our investigation gives an important insight of the origin of critical points for direct and indirect gaps of nanocrystalline silicon films as well as the evolution of them with decreasing the film thickness. The influence of the quantum confinement effect due to the nanoscale grain size and the surface vibrations at the interface on the optical properties are examined in detail. © 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.